DENVER — Coming Jan. 30, families in Northern Colorado will have the option to send their children to a Catholic elementary school through a new regional, classical academy in Thornton.

"It is with great joy that we announce the opening of a new Catholic school in the Archdiocese of Denver to be called Frassati Catholic Academy," stated a letter from Archbishop Samuel J. Aquila of Denver and the Superintendent of Catholic Schools, Kevin Kijewski.

Frassati Catholic Academy will be the first regional Catholic academy opened by the Archdiocese of Denver, meaning that it will not be associated with a single parish, but will rather serve a range of different families in various parishes throughout the Northern Colorado region.

The school, located in an almost 62,000-square-foot-building, will be located at 133rd Ave. and Colorado Blvd. on over seven acres of land. The academy will open in fall 2017, and will offer programs to children beginning at junior kindergarten through the fifth grade.